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Sissoko questions Pochettino's tactics following defeat to Bayern

m*****73

Well-Known Member
Dec 15, 2005
462
732
Ossie loved the diamond when he was manager here.

Popescu at the base, Anderton and Barmby in the middle, Dumitrescu at the top (behind Sheringham and Klinsmann)..... Looked great on paper but crap on grass.

Popescu constantly overrun through the middle with no help, little width to support the fullbacks, ended up just hoping for a bit of magic up front to save us.

Tactically niave. Hopefully Poch avoids the same outcome...
 

Metalhead

But that's a debate for another thread.....
Nov 24, 2013
25,351
38,294
I think it’s a system loved by many Argentinian coaches in the past more than anywhere else and has made a resurgence in recent times
I have it at the back of my mind that Ardiles played it back in 1993 - can anyone else remember?
 

Locotoro

Prince of Zamunda
Sep 2, 2004
9,326
13,915
The diamond only works when you're getting width from somewhere. Either the fullbacks or from the forwards (Like Mourinhos Inter with Etoo drifting wide) but we don't have the players for it.

the biggest problem is that we're not playing a player that can anchor the midfield and allow the CB to split, Fullbacks can't go up and look awful, midfield doesn't get any width support and as a result our forwards end up coming out of the danger zone to support play and we don't fill the box when we attack.

You see one big difference between us and City/Liverpool is they always have 3 options in the box when they attack whereas we don't. We have Son or Kane taking the ball into a shooting position and everyone behind them
 

waresy

Well-Known Member
Mar 22, 2004
2,421
1,569
The only quote is "We get tired too quickly physically when we play with a diamond midfield,"

Unless I've just realised I'm a natural born tactician, I didn't think you needed to claim to know anything about tactics to know what makes you exhausted.
Bit of a naughty/click bait style article which that quote was probably translated from French which means there is a degree of interpretation needed
 

Ossie'sAardvark

Well-Known Member
Aug 20, 2013
2,073
2,210
The diamond only works when you're getting width from somewhere. Either the fullbacks or from the forwards (Like Mourinhos Inter with Etoo drifting wide) but we don't have the players for it.

the biggest problem is that we're not playing a player that can anchor the midfield and allow the CB to split, Fullbacks can't go up and look awful, midfield doesn't get any width support and as a result our forwards end up coming out of the danger zone to support play and we don't fill the box when we attack.

You see one big difference between us and City/Liverpool is they always have 3 options in the box when they attack whereas we don't. We have Son or Kane taking the ball into a shooting position and everyone behind them
Hate the formation personally, so center orientated (I mean when we are defending). I think that's why our full backs occasionally are made to look like mugs.
 

whitesocks

The past means nothing. This is a message for life
Jan 16, 2014
4,652
5,738
I think it fair to say that the tactics MP employs have been totally found out.
Every coach in the prem has watched the game 5 times now and while they wont have the quality of player to stick 7 past us, they'll get wins and unlikely draws, unless something changes.

But tactics and formations don't interest MP very much. He is a large emotional bear, and the game for him is all about roaring and the size of your cojones. His solution is likely to be more roaring and I fear we are just going to get picked off.
 

DEFchenkOE

Well-Known Member
Feb 13, 2006
10,527
8,052
I think Argentinians, Italians love the diamond as they've always produced world class no 10s. And that system is perfect for those types of players. Still need an intelligent disciplined player at the base, 2 other strong and fit cms as well as quality full backs. But the football in those countries is much slower pace and you often get diamonds against other diamonds. Even in Italy its hardly used now though.
 

bigspurs

Well-Known Member
Aug 9, 2005
3,193
2,419
I’m so disappointed that Poch isn’t shaping up to be the manager I thought he was. If he still can’t see that this diamond formation of his is a pig, then I really do think that someone had to say something. Players speaking out in public is always a big no, no, especially with Poch and Levy, so good on Sissoko for doing so! We can turn this thing around if Poch acts positively now.
 

double0

Well-Known Member
Aug 29, 2006
14,423
12,258
I miss the 4-2-3-1 with the occasional use of 3-5-2 :(
But do you remember people complained about that too saying we didn’t have a plan B.
One thing people should not level at poch is his lack of tactics. He has used so many tactics in his time at Spurs. The diamond is a great system but it requires a better press.
 
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